Finalproject7

Final Project 7 - Book Review
Sam S's project

The Giver: Book Review By: Amalia H Pd. 6

The Giver is adventurous, genuine, and an addicting book. When I first read the book, I thought it was weird. It drops you off right into the action, but that made me want to read it more interesting. When Jonas receives his title as Receiver I didn’t know if that was good or bad. There are a lot of actions that take place in the book, that doesn’t make complete sense until you read farther ahead. Another part like that was when he saw his father killing the babies. I knew he would do something spontaneous, but I couldn’t figure it out. Some questions that you have are never answered, but that is what makes it interesting. I thought that the Giver was a well-written book. Publishers Weekly wrote, with a storyline that hints at Christian allegory and an eerie futuristic setting, this intriguing novel calls to mind John Christopher's Tripods trilogy and Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl. The School Library Journal he author makes real abstract concepts, such as the meaning of a life in which there are virtually no choices to be made and no experiences with deep feelings. This tightly plotted story and its believable characters will stay with readers for a long time. The New York Times said that it is, a powerful and proactive novel. Even though this book is very well written it is banned. The Giver is one of the most commonly banned books for middle school in the U.S. It is in the category referred to as “ the suicide” book, because the Utopian society relies on euthanasia and suicide to make it a “perfect” community. I told you about the critic reviews, and here are some of the reader’s reviews. D. Corban thought the first half of the book is great. It is one of the most interesting stories I have ever read. This is part of the problem. I was so excited and anxious to find out what happens next, that I was hugely disappointed. To sum it up, the ending is a terrible disappointment. It feels like halfway through the book, the author was in need of money, so they slapped together a few more chapters and shipped it. Another review is by Kathy Dawson. She wrote, Lois Lowry does such an excellent job of describing his characters, especially Jonas, and the city where everything is controlled. This is a great read for middle school students through adults. I would gladly recommend it to all my friends. There are many different inputs and opinions on The Giver. I thought it was pretty good.

Samuel C Book review

I think this book was good because it let you use your imagination. I also thought that the whole story was kind of weird because all the people were brainwashed, and could not see color. Also the characters were unique because all of them were named by a group of elders, they also were given there jobs. Some of the stuff that was weird was that they think utopia is perfect, and that they only ride bikes.

On Amazon.com some people think that the book was good. For example J Llewellyn like the theme of the book because this book can be read be any age group. He/she also like the book because it is easy to follow, and she/he thought it was to short. Another person that liked it was Ms. E. Haywood said that it’s just capable of inspiring adults as young adult. Some people did not like the book, for ex B. Smith said that the book was too hard to read, bad character, and bad plot.

The Giver was been banned from many school. For example in 1994 the Giver was banned from classes by the Bonita Unified School District in LaVerne and San Dimas, California after Four parents complained that the violence and the sexual passages were inappropriate for children. It was also banned from Franklin County, Kansas, on the grounds that it is "concerned with murder, suicide, and the degradation of motherhood and adolescence." So the Giver was banned from schools because it was sexual, violets, adolescence, offensive language and objectionable themes, usage of mind control, selective breeding, and the elimination of the old and young alike when they are weak, treatment of themes of infanticide and euthanasia.

Critics respond to the Giver with nearly universal praise. The book has received more than ten prestigious awards, including the Newbery Medal, which the American Library Association awarded it in 1994. Critics also said that the Giver is with its multilevel of meaning, complex symbolism, and ambiguous conclusion, so radical a change from previous works by the author. They also say that the Giver was masterly made.

Book Review Sarah F Period 8

The Giver is a very interesting and adventurous book. It is also confusing at some parts. Like the part when Jonas thinks he sees the apple begin to change. When I first read the beginning of this book I was kinda bored and confused with it, but as I kept on reading most everything I had a question about fell into place. As Jonas starts to become the new receiver, you find out a lot of information about what the community leaders do to try and keep their “perfect world”. The community leaders say that people can lie to each other so they can keep the bad secrets that they do at their jobs from each other. An example of that would be when Jonas finds out that his father is killing babies, so he does something genious to save Gabriel. In a way I think that this book is kinda twisted because nobody can have any of their own feelings or decide for them selves on what they want to do. Like they can’t have their own children or marry who they want. There are a few questions you might have that you’ll never find out, but those are the parts that make the book so unique. Over all I thought The Giver was a very interesting book and I’m glad that I took the time to read it.

Elyse Lord and instructor at the University of Utah and at the Salt Lake City and community college evaluated the book The Giver and here is what she said, “The storyline captures the interest of a wide group of readers and critics. For example, many scholars consider the novel to be dysopian, and compare it to adult classics and children’s classics.” While a scholar named Patty Campbell said, “The novel is rich in levels of meaning, so daring in complexity of symbols and metaphor, so challenging in the ambiguity of its conclusion, that we are left with all of our neat little everyday categories and judgments hanging useless.”

We have heard about what the critics reviews said, and now here are some readers reviews. Christina McCallister said, “I think that, while written for children, many teenagers and adults will enjoy it, and find it thought-provoking. While the reading level of the book is aimed at children, the concepts are relevant to all ages.” Also, Kelly Watters said, “The Giver is a wonderful book. Lois Lowry skillfully crafted and intriguing and profoundly thoughtful story. She subtly creates and uneasy feeling that something is wrong with this “perfect world”. The community’s advisors intended to establish security within utopian society, but they really establish a stifling dystopis. To protect people from the risks of making poor or wrong decisions in life, the advisors plan and dictate the lives of the people. In effect, the citizens have no freedom of choice; they do not choose their job or even their spouse. Moreover, the advisors inhibit the people’s ability to feel because they want to spare them from the hardships and pain of life.”

Although this is a very well-written and interesting book it is banned from many schools and libraries. The Giver is one of the most banned books from schools in the U.S. The reason for this is because some people think that the book is negative and nothing in it is academic. Also it is considered to be a suicide book because to make a perfect community relies on suicide While many people said negative stuff on this book, I found it to be very unique and extremely intresting.